It finally happened. WWE finally pulled the trigger on a Seth Rollins heel turn just as 2019 comes to a close. Now, who could he feud with as a heel in 2020?
After being booked by WWE for the majority of the year as the brand’s premiere babyface of the people and the go-to flagbearer of Monday Night Raw, Seth Rollins has curb stomped his way into the dark side.
It was a long, tumultuous and, in some ways (for Rollins especially) unfortunate road to get where we are today. There was a time when Rollins was one of the most (if not, the most) beloved characters the WWE roster had to offer.
Then, after a bevy of poorly booked decisions (namely those made during his feud with The Fiend) followed by what many fans deemed to be upsetting comments from the man made on social media and in interviews, that same beloved babyface started to get merciless boos as the weeks went on.
Ultimately, while the boos weren’t horrendously bad, it was noticeable enough that WWE had no choice but to turn the Seth Rollins character heel.
And turn heel, he did. For the first time in over three years, Seth Rollins is a baddie. He has hitched Akam and Rezar of Authors of Pain to his side as his new muscle and is on a quest to cleanse the Monday Night Raw locker room in his image and as promised in last night’s episode of Raw, he plans to do so by force.
Also as of last night, Rollins is already interlocked in new feuds with beloved babyfaces Kevin Owens and Rey Mysterio. As 2020 nears, what other feuds could be in store for a freshly villainized Seth Rollins?
Roman Reigns
This first entry on the list is a no brainer if there ever was one, but sometimes, it’s foolish not to capitalize on no brainer ideas. Just like it would be foolish for WWE to not capitalize on Seth Rollins’ history with Roman Reigns for a storyline somewhere down the line, especially since they haven’t feuded as rivals in over three years.
In fact, WWE seemed to already be hinting at these two revisiting their long time frenemy-ship (That’s a word, right? It is now) earlier this year, albeit in a face vs. face fashion. It was just last month at Survivor Series and the go-home SmackDown beforehand as well where Reigns and Rollins briefly squared off as their brand’s respective team captains.
There is no guarantee that both men wind up on the same brand in 2020, but my colleague Ryan Anderson earlier this year suggested that Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins could and should headline WrestleMania 36. Which, the way the road to WrestleMania is shaping right now, seems entirely plausible.
Another member of the DDT family, Mark Justice, recently campaigned for Rollins to carry that new heel momentum into a WWE Championship win. A title holding Seth Rollins going into Mania to face a Rumble winning Big Dog would be the easiest way to deliver this feud, but however they duke it out, these former Shield mates are overdue for another collision.
Ricochet
Ricochet and Seth Rollins respectively have always been well regarded as two of the very best in-ring competitors that the ring has to offer today. Yet, not even in their pre-WWE days have they ever wrestled each other.
In fact, before occupying the same team representing Raw at Survivor Series last month, these two never so much as shared the same ring at the same time on television. I think it is about time that these two did so again, only this time, let them stare each other down from opposite sides of the ring for the first time ever in a full blown dream match.
Given the remarkable in-ring prowess against each other, a match like this will always be a Match of the Year candidate, but with the added element of a heel vs. babyface dynamic, Ricochet vs. Rollins has even more potential to be a barnburner.
It also has potential to deliver a truly star making performance for the former NXT North American Champion. 2019 was a breakout year for Ricochet thanks to impressive performances against the likes of AJ Styles and Cesaro, but holding his own against an incredible Grand Slam Champion could make Ricochet into a staple of the main event scene.
Kofi Kingston
In the wake of both of their respective title victories at WrestleMania 35, WWE went out of their way to tease a feud between Kofi Kingston and Seth Rollins. The night after Mania, they even had a Winner Take All match that got interrupted by interference from Cesaro and Sheamus.
Then, a month later, both World Champions developed something of a competitive rivalry as they verbally battled for the affections of one Brock Lesnar, begging for The Beast to cash in his Money in the Bank briefcase on one of them over the other.
Throughout all of these mid-2019 encounters, these two remained babyfaces and shared a mutual respect for each other. However, with the former Universal Champion now entering 2020 as a heel, WWE has the opportunity to revisit their history. This time, whether than mutual respect, they can share a mutual hostility.
These two have always had immaculate chemistry, but never really had a full blown feud, not even when Rollins first turned heel and these two wrestled week after week in 2014. They certainly never had a rivalry over a title, and given the intrigue that surrounding their Winner Take All Match the night after Mania, fans seem to be interested in seeing them wrestle with a belt on the line.
Mustafa Ali
I’ll be honest: I don’t have a good reason for why Mustafa Ali should feud with Seth Rollins. I just want to see it happen.
Now, I could make up a reason about how Ali represents The Light and could provide a good polar opposite to the darkness shrouding Rollins at the moment, but that’s a disingenuous made up reason. I could say that Rollins could make Ali into a new main event caliber star, but then I would just be regurgitating what I said in the Ricochet slide.
I could even say that these two could potentially have a great, first time ever match up as two of the best in-ring wrestlers on the WWE roster, but again, I would just be repeating what I have said about other wrestlers over the course of the last couple slides.
Point blank, plain and simple, I just want to see Mustafa Ali vs. Seth Rollins because I think it would be awesome. Is that so wrong to say? Too simple to put it, especially after so much intricate detail and explanation was provided for previous slides?
Ah well. Sometimes I’m eloquent. Other times I just want to see cool stuff. It’s like with movies. Sometimes I need a sophisticated drama romp. Other times, I just need Michael Bay to blow up cars for my entertainment.
Now, I just Ali and Rollins to blow up cars for my amusement. Or at least have an explosive match. That works, too.
Keith Lee
Keith Lee is currently weeks removed from a star making performance during Survivor Series weekend, but let us not forget who he beat on PPV to receive so much attention: Seth Rollins.
Rollins was eliminated by Keith Lee during the match and a day after the team captain let Team Raw down, Rollins turned heel on the Raw roster and stomped Kevin Owens’ head into the mat. In many ways, Keith Lee directly contributed to the Rollins character’s heel turn. By proxy, a match is warranted between the two.
At the moment, both men are in very different positions on different brands. Rollins is on a journey to re-shape the Raw roster the way he sees fit while Lee is locked into the NXT World Title picture. By the off chance that Rollins and Lee wind up on the same brand in 2020, it seems necessary and maybe even inevitable for both men to revisit what happened on Survivor Series weekend to lead both men to where they are now.
Beyond just a captivating rivalry, I feel like Rollins and Lee could make for an interesting David vs. Goliath type bout, especially if the Authors of Pain are still aligned with Rollins in a year’s time.